Coral Gables Takes on the Tough Issues: "How Did the World Stay Tidy and Clean Before Leaf Blowers?" | Riptide 2.0 | Miami | Miami New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Miami, Florida
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Coral Gables Takes on the Tough Issues: "How Did the World Stay Tidy and Clean Before Leaf Blowers?"

Give the stupid quote of the week award to Coral Gables City Commissioner Ralph Cabrera. He's launched a one-man quest to ban gasoline powered leaf blowers in Coral Gables, a city already high on stupid rules. If anyone calls out his proposed law as dumb, well boy does he have...
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Give the stupid quote of the week award to Coral Gables City Commissioner Ralph Cabrera. He's launched a one-man quest to ban gasoline powered leaf blowers in Coral Gables, a city already high on stupid rules. If anyone calls out his proposed law as dumb, well boy does he have some tight logic to drop on them.


Here's what Cabrera told The Herald:

"Some people look at leaf blowers as a necessity. I look at it as a convenience," Cabrera said. "When people say they won't be able to keep their lawns tidy, I ask them, 'How did the world stay tidy and clean before leaf blowers? It did.'"

This is exactly the same kind of sophomoric logic I tried to use on my mom to get out of trips to the dentists: "People have had teeth long before modern dentistry, and they seemed to get on just fine."

Under the proposed new rules, commercial lawn services will be completely banned from using all leaf blowers, while citizens will be allowed to use electric leaf blowers during designated hours. Use of tools like "chain saws, weed trimmers, lawn-edgers and chippers" would also be banned during night time hours.

The issue seems to be noise, but the city already has laws regarding noise on the books.&

We might have a solution for the problem. Maybe citizens can somehow harness all the powerful hot air coming out of Cabrera's mouth and use that to tidy their lawns.

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